Arcam started out in 1976 as A&R Cambridge, its classic A60
amplifier designed by founder and Cambridge University graduate
John Dawson. It remains one of the stalwart brands of the British hi-fi
industry, with a centre of product gravity firmly in 'mid-fi’ territory.

Arcam was one of the earliest pioneers of the standalone
digital-to-analogue converter, or DAC, introducing its first example – the
famous Black Box – way back in
the late-1980s. Demand was limited back then, as CD was the only digital audio
game in town, but we’ve subsequently seen dramatic growth in the available
digital sources. Loudspeakers and amplifiers are still overwhelmingly
analogue, so DACs have proliferated to accommodate the numerous digital
sources.

DACs now come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, prices and
complexities. Digital inputs have appeared on CD players, on pre-amps with
built-in DAC circuitry, and as both simple and complex standalone devices –
the range of available options has become quite bewildering and confusing.
Arcam alone has a number of models to suit different applications, from low
cost single application types up to this very flexible multi-input standalone
unit.

In the relatively upmarket FMJ hi-fi separates series, this
new D33 'SuperDAC' has a
substantial 2000 price tag that clearly puts at least a toe in the high-end
water. It’s a full width unit, very well finished in all over black, with
steel casework, and a rather plain looking alloy front panel enlivened by just
a row of buttons and indicator lights. The FMJ bit might stand for 'Faithful
Musical Joy’, but 'Full Metal Jacket’ is more likely, referring to a
case that uses Sound Dead Steel’s technology, a company specializing in
noise and vibration control.

Under the lid are two decent size toroidal transformers, one
for analogue and the other for digital signals, plus a third board-mounted 'housekeeping’ transformer. Eschewing the dreaded universal switch-mode
power supply (and the RFI problems it can bring), a rear panel switch offers
alternative voltages for different countries. There are multiple regulators
and four reference oscillator crystals, three of which are vibration damped.
Each channel has a Burr Brown PCM1792 dual-differential hybrid oversampled DAC chip,
capable of 24-bit/192kHz; on-chip volume control and digital filtering is
available if required.

The USB input chip is asynchronous, and there are two
different USB connections on the back, one for the electrically isolated USB
1.1, and the other for Hi-Speed USB 2.0. The latter requires driver software,
to be found on the included CD, which was installed without much difficulty.
An iPod USB input is fitted but
this doesn’t currently work, the plan being for the dealer to activate it in
the future. Two optical inputs (capable of up to 24-bit/96kHz), two co-axial
inputs (capable of up to 24-bit/196kHz) and an AES/EBU input, along with both
RCA and XLR outputs complete the rear panel offerings. A simple lightweight
and compact remote handset adds to the convenience.

Listening to the bucolic 1st Movement of the Brahms Serenade
(Opus 11, Haitink conducting on Philips), using a Bel Canto CD2
disc spinner and a Chord Indigo
Plus S/PDIF digital cable, I am struck by a
laid-back-to-the-point-of-horizontal feel on S/PDIF drive. The rhythmic
impetus provided by the off-beat motor of the lower strings seems to be
speaking late, so the essential rhythmic tension required to make the movement
swing is lacking. In comparison, I have never heard my reference Weiss DAC202
sound so exciting - not a characteristic for which it has achieved
celebrity! The Arcam soundstage is more limited than the Weiss version, and my
overall impression with this piece is that the Arcam somehow shows a lack of
commitment. The dynamism of the great sweeping Brahmsian phrases is
watered down, as if on lithium, and the energy levels needed to get me
involved in the performance are missing.

The D33 DAC
has two operational USB inputs, and using the higher spec connection, I
plumbed in my Toshiba laptop running Foobar, using an AudioQuest Carbon
USB cable. Chesky’s highres sampler includes Rimsky-Korsakof’s Dance
of the Tumblers, which tends to throw a bright light on the
differences between DACs. Compared to the Metrum Octave,
the Arcam seemed a lot less articulate in a number of areas. The top strings
lacked incisiveness, and the soundstage was much smaller and seemingly less
well separated and defined. The rhythmic subtleties (contradictions) that the
composer has so skillfully created have been merged, and the sharp percussive
edges which give the work its wit are rounded. A syncopated passage for cellos
and basses towards the end of the track manifests poor timing, due to the
lateness of attack. With the Arcam this passage simply doesn’t make sense to
me. Tonally relatively smooth, with no hard or shrill edges, the sound is not
unpleasant in any way, but it just lacks the detail and timing precision
required to make the piece dance.

Linn Records’ release of Mozart’s late symphonies (the
late Sir Charles Mackerras conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) is a
particularly fine example of a hi-res recording. Listening to the final
movement of the Jupiter Symphony (No 41), I have the impression of a quite
clean sound and the sort of thing that sounds superficially pleasant enough,
but on closer inspection doesn’t have the levels of precision and detail
that I would expect from a high-end high fidelity component. When Mozart
explodes with creativity, as a sensationally valedictory gesture spinning
earlier musical lines from the movement into a complex whole, both the musical
and spatial separation of those lines lacks the clarity to make the work
sparkle. The ending, with the timpani bringing the section to a close, fails
to register properly through a lack of punch. The same passage played through
the Weiss DAC yields a holographic picture of the orchestra, with each section
contributing in an etched way to the complex counterpoint; the ability to
create a genuinely three dimensional space is a vital part of this process.

Returning to the Bel Canto and S/PDIF input for a superb
Philips recording of Beethoven’s 1st Symphony (Sir Colin Davis and the
Staatskapelle Dresden), with the Arcam the opening chords containing
orchestral pizzicati seem to lack the proper organic decay. When a DAC gets
this recording right, you can really appreciate the space of the hall – but
that wasn’t the case here. The D33 does
deliver a clean and quite sweet instrumental tone, with no shrill edges. It
seems to differentiate the texture of instruments quite well. The aftershock
of instrumental notes is clean with no nasty ringing or ungainly sonic
artifacts. However the soundstage is compacted compared to both the Weiss and
the Metrum DACs, and the bass is irritatingly slow and late. It simply fails
to drive the unfolding drama of the music.

It is interesting to see how the different elements in a
digital audio chain contribute to the overall picture, and in particular how
significant the USB and S/PDIF inputs are to the whole. Sadly this Arcam
doesn’t have a digital output, so I can’t check whether this part of the
input/output chain distinguishes itself. When I did a group test of USB to
S/PDIF convertors recently, I was surprised to discover significant sound
quality differences.

Conclusions

I find it difficult to conceal my disappointment with this
£2000 ($3100) DAC. Arcam has high aspirations for its FMJ series, but simply hasn’t
managed to catapult this product into the higher echelons of audio Nirvana.
The D33 doesn’t score well on
the all-important rhythm, timing and fluidity factors, and with the possible
exceptions of texture and tonal solidity, it isn’t that easy to find an area
where the unit excels at its not inconsiderable price.

By Martin
CollomsThe key data are seen in the table and graphs, and merely
serve to confirm that the D33’s
state-of-the-art technical performance. It locked all rates including 192kHz,
was happy with anything from 16- to 24-bit resolution, showing excellent bit
recovery on the latter, down to -90dB for 16-bit and -120dB (only 0.5dB error)
for 24-bit material. Separation was 128dB midband, and still 117dB at 20kHz.
Frequency response was flat from 10Hz to 15kHz and just 0.14dB down at 20kHz,
while channel balance was a very good 0.12dB. Output was higher than average
(so beware A/B comparisons), reading 4.7V balanced, 2.35V single ended. The
output impedance was a low 128ohms with no DC offset. Full level THD was -96dB
midband including noise while the 'jitter gram’ was textbook perfect, with
no visible artifacts right down to -140dB (for 24-bit inputs). High frequency
intermodulation was also very good, typically -103dB for all levels and bit
depths tried. Signal-to-noise ratios were 102dB CCIR (1kHz), 109dB unweighted
and 112dBA, all very good results. It also uses little power (14W/17VA).
Several listening tests were undertaken over the extended review period,
resulting in a sound quality score of 23 points.